GOT YOUR SIX BY MICHAEL KINNEY

GOT YOUR SIX

Cartwright, Oklahoma photo by Brandon Bottoms

By Michael Kinney Adam Grover knows what it means to live in some dark places. After doing eight years in the United States Marine Corps and returning to the real world, he often found himself delving into some scary thoughts and feelings. Nothing Grover tried helped him until he discovered medicinal cannabis. Ever since then he has become a town crier for how cannabis can help veterans. “It’s a complete game-changer. Unfortunately, I’ve lost a friend to suicide. Some of my veteran friends became statistics, and I think this helps 100 percent,” Grover said. “I went to the VA (Veteran Affairs), they did the same thing for me. They just gave me pills and sent me home. And when I started using medical cannabis, it really changed my life.” Grover became such a believer that he created Got Your Six, a cannabis farm in Cartwright, Oklahoma. Grover said the company’s mission is to make a contribution to the patients by growing the best cannabis at the lowest cost to heal the mind and body alike. “Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people affected by physical and psychological tragedy,” Grover said. “We make this possible by offering a wide range of high-quality, low-cost cannabis products that as many people as possible will be able to afford. We get to know our customer’s medicinal needs by listening and creating meaningful relationships with those around us. We exist to create experiences where passion and purpose come together, while healing and supporting those in need.” In the seven months that Got Your Six has been in business, Grover said they have seen tremendous growth. “We’re doing good. I didn’t have anything there when we started,” Grover said. “There were a few tables with some plants and now we have about close to 1,500 in there, but I’m just enjoying the process. I’m enjoying the grind and getting things going.” More important for Grover is the assistance he and his company can provide to veterans. As someone who has gone through the same adversity that many of them are enduring, he knows they are in dire need of help. “I did two tours in Iraq and I just started noticing the lack of help we were getting back home, especially with PTSD and then stuff like that coming back,” Grover said. “And the VA, they just give you pills and send you home. And I started doing a lot of research on how medicinal cannabis can help veterans with some of our issues. And I just want to help as many vets as I can, I want to help as many people as we can. That’s our mission.”

For Grover, his turning point came when he was at his lowest point. “It’s almost the same story as a lot of these vets. That’s why I relate to them so much. They give you these pills for your PTSD and whatever type of pain you’re having,” Grover said. “And then, six months later, you’re hooked on pills. And that ended up being what happened. I was just so focused. I had to take my pill to go to bed. I had to do this. I had to take my pill at this time, and this time. And a lot of these guys get hooked on it and it’s sad. It really is. And I just changed to medicinal cannabis and I felt the weight get off my shoulders. I wasn’t walking around like a zombie.”

Grover said it was another veteran who first told him about the benefits of cannabis and that he needed to give it a try. “He was like, ‘Man, you got to get off those pills. You don’t need them. This is just a better way to do it.’ And so I started weaning myself off the pills and using cannabis a little more, and a little more,” Grover recalled. “And I just saw my whole outlook change. That’s when I started doing more research and looking up veteran cannabis communities and researching. And I just finally said, “You know what? I’m all in. This has to be the way, because what’s happening now is not working and it hasn’t worked for years.” Currently, the Got Your Six staff is composed of Grover and a fellow veteran. But he hopes to see that change in the future. “Once we start getting some more money coming in and I’m able to hire some guys, I want to bring on some veterans and teach them the process, help them get jobs, help them medically as much as we can,” Grover said. “That’s really my goal.” 59

Grover’s other goal is to one day see the VA transform and start making cannabis available to their patients. “I hope one day they do. I think it’s going to be a long road to get there, but I believe one day it will happen,” Grover said. “I don’t know when that day will be, but I think the more we get the word out and the more veterans get involved in the cannabis community, I think it’ll help that move along faster. I’m hoping in the next five years it’ll become federally legal. That way we could start having more research done and hopefully get into the VA.”

While Got Your Six was created specifically to help military veterans, that hasn’t stopped Grover from assisting others. Recently, the story of Amber Mayes was brought to his attention by one of his growers, Brandon Bottom. Mayes is a single mother who works as a cocktail waitress at an Oklahoma casino. She was diagnosed with stage three cancer in December of 2020 and had to endure chemotherapy. However, Mayes chose to use medical marijuana instead of the pain medication her doctor prescribed. She attributes that as a reason she was in 100 percent remission after just six months. But Mayes soon found herself in severe debt due to medical bills and had nowhere to turn. Then a chance encounter with Bottom changed everything. He told her story to Grover, who didn’t hesitate to help out with medicinal cannabis needs. “I thought it was really cool of Adam to step up and say ‘Hey, if she doesn’t have anyone else to support her, that’s what Got Your Six is about,’” Bottom said. “We’ve got her back and we’ll help her with those medical needs so she can focus on putting her money towards getting her life back together.” Even though Mayes is not a veteran, Grover said he felt compelled to do something. “Her story, it’s sad that she had to go through all that,” Grover said. “And you hear a story like that, in my eyes, it’s inhumane not to try to reach out and do what you can. I think it’s just being a human.” This is a mindset that seems to flow throughout the cannabis industry. Whenever a person is in need, someone or some group in the community does not hesitate to provide some type of assistance.

According to Grover, there’s a simple explanation. “I think the people that help the most are the ones who needed help at one time or another,” Grover said. “There were times in my life where I hit some really bad lows. I’ve been in those dark places. I’ve needed help, and I got it. And I think when you go through certain things in life, I think when you hear a story, it doesn’t really have to relate to the same thing you went through, you just have to know this person needs help and I’m all in. The situation might be different. But I think the people that help the most are the ones that needed help before and got it.”